Today’s sweet-spot spotlight shines on Air Canada’s Aeroplan for infant award tickets. That’s because they offer an easy and reasonably-priced way to use either money or miles to add a lap infant to an award ticket (this is especially true for business and first class flights).
Sweet spot spotlight:
- The short story: Air Canada’s Aeroplan allows you to easily add a lap infant to your reservation using either money or miles at reasonable rates.
- Miles required: Economy = 5,000 miles or $50 CAD / Premium Economy = 7,500 miles or $75 CAD / Business = 10,000 miles or $100 CAD / First = 12,500 miles or $125 CAD
- How to find awards: You can add a lap infant to your existing award booking (no need to search for special availability)
- How to book awards: Book over the phone with Aeroplan at 1-800-361-5373
Quick Notes
Adding a lap infant to an award ticket reservation normally requires calling the ticketing carrier. In other words, you contact the airline whose miles you used to book the award ticket (in most cases). Many airlines charge 10% of the adult revenue fare and taxes to add a lap infant. While that’s often not so bad in economy class, it can easily equate to hundreds of dollars in business or even a thousand or more in first class — to have a baby sit on your lap for hours.
Air Canada’s Aeroplan is one of the few airlines that offers the ability to pay for the lap infant award ticket using miles and it offers the best deal for Star Alliance premium cabin redemptions out of the transfer partners from the major credit card issuer transferable currencies. While economy and premium economy Aeroplan lap infant awards may only represent a small savings over paying 10% of the adult fare (as you would via other frequent flyer programs), the prices for business and first class are excellent. That’s because you’ll pay only $100 Canadian or 10,000 miles in business class or it will cost $125 CAD or 12,500 miles in first class. Compared to 10% of an adult fare in those cabins on international tickets, that makes for a huge savings in most cases.
To add a lap infant, you will need to first make a reservation for an adult ticket(s), then call Aeroplan to add the lap infant to your booking. While the Aeoplan website looks like it will allow you to add a lap infant when searching, trying to increase the number from zero to 1 will give you a message letting you know that you’ll need to book first, then call to add the lap infant.
Keys to know:
- If your child will turn 2 during the trip, he or she will need a ticket and seat. See this news story about a family whose child turned 2 during the trip, forcing them to pay thousands of dollars at check-in for a walk-up fare (later refunded, but you may not be so lucky). Your best bet is probably to book two separate one-ways rather than chance an issue on the way home.
- The child will sit on your lap. Seems obvious, but I’ve been asked where the child sits. If there is a nearby empty seat, it is possible that the crew will allow you to use it, but I wouldn’t count on it. While some airlines / planes do have bassinets that attach to the wall on bulkhead seats, note that the weight limits on those are usually 20-22lbs.
- If you want a seat for your child, you will need to book a regular award ticket. That will be at the full adult award price. Unfortunately, most business and first class seats can not accommodate a car seat or harness, so if you prefer to get a seat for your child you may be better off booking in economy class or premium economy.
- If you would like to use Aeroplan miles for the infant ticket, they need to come from the same account used to book the (adult) award ticket. For example, if my wife books tickets for the two of us, she will need to use her miles for the infant ticket (if we choose to pay the cash fee instead, I don’t believe there is any restriction as to whose credit card is used).
Bottom line
If you intend to travel with a lap infant, Air Canada’s Aeroplan is one of the best options for booking award tickets and certainly the best bet for Star Alliance awards for those who primarily collect transferable points. While Asiana can also be a good choice for Star Alliance awards (they charge 10% of the adult mileage fare), Aeroplan will be an easier choice for most people since it is both an Amex Transfer Partner and a Capital One Transfer Partner (whereas Marriott is the only program offering transfers to Asiana).
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Does the 10 percent work for any star alliance partner or only for Air Canada metal? Usually you pay the actually carrier you are flying on, not who you booked with.
Sounds like you have a little confusion.
1) On award tickets, you usually pay the carrier you booked with, not the carrier you’re flying on (Alaska is a notable exception).
2) The beauty of using Aeroplan is that you do *not* pay 10%. You pay $50 or 5K miles for economy class, $75 or 7500 miles in premium economy, $100 or 10K miles in business, or $125 or 12.5K miles in first class. That’s true whether you book one-way or round trip (i.e. they price doesn’t double on a RT ticket, so it’s a better value to book RT) and it is true whether it’s a Star Alliance award or on Air Canada metal.
This is a great deal because let’s say you book a RT business class ticket on Swiss Airlines that normally sells for $5,000. If you booked that ticket through United, United would charge you 10% to add a lap infant (i.e. $500). If you book through Aeroplan, Aeroplan charges $100 or 10K miles.
Thanks for the quick reply! Correct, I didn’t mean 10 percent for Aeroplan. What I meant is that if I book Japan Airlines with AA miles I would pay whatever Japan Airlines requires for lap infant fee, not AA’s lap infant fee. Aeroplan seems to be the exception unless you know of any other programs that operate this way where the milage program determines the lap infant fees, not the metal. If you can’t tell I’m trying to plan premium cabin flights with a lap infant and not pay hundreds in fees
Actually, that’s not correct. If you book Japan Airlines with AA miles, you pay what AA charges (10% of the adult fare). If you book that same Japan Airlines flight with British Airways Avios, you pay what British Airways charges (10% of the adult *Avios* price). If you book that same Japan Airlines flight with Alaska miles, that’s the exception – then you’ll pay Japan Airlines (which charges 10% of the adult fare).
In the vast majority of cases, you pay the ticketing carrier, not the operating carrier. That’s the general rule, not the exception. Paying the operating carrier is the exception. The only times you’ll pay the operating carrier to my knowledge are if you book with Alaska miles and possibly if you book with LifeMiles (lap infant tickets through LifeMiles sound difficult / maybe impossible). Otherwise, on award tickets, you pay the ticketing carrier (the program whose miles you’re using to book the adult ticket).
To add to this: the best programs for booking infant award travel are:
1) Aeroplan for Star Alliance: prices in this post
2) British Airways for oneworld: 10% of the adult mileage ticket (but don’t book flights on British Airways metal since surcharges on the adult tickets would be ridiculous)
3) Asiana for Star Alliance: 10% of the adult mileage ticket
4) Virgin Atlantic for Delta / ANA: they charge mileage prices, which vary a little bit between carriers but are just a few thousand miles.
5) Lufthansa miles and more for Star Alliance: just pay taxes & surcharges
If you’re booking in economy-class, Emirates and Qatar also charge 10% of the mileage fare for economy class.
Here’s a handy resource from One Mile at a Time:
https://onemileatatime.com/infant-award-travel/
Does United charge different amount than 10% of fare if using United miles? I tried to price a complex itinary US-Europe for 2 adults, 1 child + infant, and it did price (including infant), but it priced 66K miles in total + ~$200 fees + ~$1200 infant fare. How it can be? 2 fligths are domestic USA flights + 2 flight within europe. Even cash price for european segment costs ~$1200, so 10% would be ~$120. I don’t know where those $1200 came from.
I’m not sure. Have you tried calling United to ask them to price it out for you? What did they say?
Didn’t call yet. But really curious. I followed the trick “Travels_is_free” blog posted about United awards (and maximizing them), so I hope this cash pricing appearance is a glitch.
Please God NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Someone Bring up Baby ?
CHEERs
Oh my is that a photo of a baby in premium class? YOU MONSTER! OFF WITH YER HEAD! 😉
I’m so confused – when my now 9 year old was an infant, no one charged us a thing when he sat on my lap! When did this change? Or is it only a thing outside US?
A lap infant is free for domestic flights within the US, but you need to pay for a lap infant on international tickets.
Virgin Atlantic is only 5k pts for intl business. Just booked it on my jfk-nce route
Sure is! I recently wrote about Flying Delta One, which I booked with Virgin Atlantic and added my son for 5K. They are great for Delta and ANA bookings. Aeroplan gives you a lot more options in terms of airline partners though, so it just depends on who serves the route you need.
Keep it quiet bro! Otherwise it will get devalued !
Paging Mommy points
#DaddyPoints